Court Frees up 96 IKKS Flagship Locations For Bidders In 2026

A rare wave of nearly 100 former IKKS locations across France is now available, offering retailers access to high-street, mall, and outlet sites that would normally be tightly held and slow to open. Structured into two court-managed bidding rounds, the process is drawing interest from fashion, lifestyle, and DTC brands looking to accelerate physical expansion without having to start from scratch.

How the IKKS ruling unlocked 96 sites

On December 12, the Paris Economic Affairs Court issued its ruling in the insolvency case concerning IKKS Group, which has been in administration since late summer. The court selected a takeover proposal from Financière Saint James, led by Michaël Benabou in association with Santiago Cucci, covering 92 directly operated stores and 27 Galeries Lafayette shop‑in‑shops, and safeguarding 546 jobs in the brand’s directly operated network.

This rescue package did not encompass the entire French network, leaving court-appointed liquidators to find solutions for more than half of the company-operated stores. Specialist firms A2MJ and Asteren are now handling the disposal of 96 remaining outlets held by IKKS Retail and IKKS Group, which are being marketed through a formal, time‑bound sale process.

First bidding session: January 22 deadline

The first batch of stores is being offered in a court‑supervised session that requires in‑person bids. Prospective buyers must submit their proposals directly to Maître Van Kemmel, Commissaire de justice at the Paris Economic Affairs Court, by January 22.

This initial list features a mix of flagship high‑street addresses and strong shopping‑centre units. Notable sites include 8–10 rue Barbette in the Marais district of Paris, 65 rue du Président‑Herriot on the Presqu’île in Lyon, a store in the Parly 2 shopping centre, a unit in Les Terrasses du Port in Marseille, space in the Cap 3000 shopping centre in Saint‑Laurent‑du‑Var, and 5 rue de Toulouse in central Rennes.

The first session also includes several stores in outlet centres across France, creating opportunities for brands with off‑price or outlet strategies as well as full‑price concepts. Given the quality of these addresses, competition is expected to be strongest in dense urban hubs and top‑tier regional malls.

Second session: February 5, and key fashion streets

A second disposal session will follow, again overseen by Maître Van Kemmel, with a bid deadline of February 5. This round covers additional locations still held by IKKS Retail and IKKS Group, spreading the opportunity set beyond just the biggest metros.

Among the sites in this phase are stores on rue Saint‑Aubin in Angers, avenue du Général de Gaulle in La Baule, and rue Saint‑Jean in Le Touquet. However, agents expect the fiercest interest for the most fashionable and central addresses, especially rue Paradis in Marseille and a cluster of coveted Paris locations: 31 boulevard des Capucines, 5 rue de Sèvres, 13–15 rue Tronchet, and three units on the quintessentially Parisian rue des Ternes.

These streets are well known for their strong tourism, affluent local clientele, and tight vacancy levels, making this sudden availability of multiple units particularly unusual.

Why this portfolio is a big deal for retailers

Altogether, around 96 former IKKS sites are being released into the market within weeks, an event that rarely happens at this scale in a mature retail landscape like France. The portfolio spans high‑street, mall, and outlet formats, which allows potential buyers to align site selection with their price positioning, branding, and regional coverage plans.

For fashion, footwear, accessories, home, and digitally native brands, these locations offer a fast track to building a national network without the long lead times and negotiation cycles that usually come with waiting for prime units to become available. Because proposals must be submitted physically and within strict court deadlines, the opportunity heavily favors operators that are capital‑ready and able to make decisions quickly.

What comes next for these streets

Once the two bidding windows close on January 22 and February 5, the court and its advisers will review offers and decide on allocations. New tenants will then be in a position to rebrand and reopen the sites, gradually reshaping high‑street and mall tenant mixes that had long featured IKKS as an anchor or key mid‑market fashion player.

In the short term, this transition period may temporarily increase vacancy or turnover in some locations. Over the medium term, however, the reoccupation of these spaces by fresh concepts could help inject new energy into French shopping streets and centres, bringing in more diverse brands and potentially new customer segments.